Industrial pallet



Patented Oct. 19, 1954 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE Kyn, assignors to Re Richmond, Va., a corporation of Delaware ynolds Metals Company,

Application December 3, 1952, Serial No; 323,908

This invention relates to industrial pallets and more particularly to industrial pallets made of metal and having a plurality of parallel spacedapart deck slats.

It is an object of this invention to provide a rugged pallet designed to withstand hard usage.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a light-weight non-corrosive rugged pallet made from aluminum.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an industrial pallet having feet adapted to provide great strength and rigidity.

It is still another object of this invention to provide an industrial pallet which is inexpensive to make, easily constructed, easily loaded, and easily transported.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following descriptive disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a top view showing a plurality of parallel spaced-apart deck slats,

Fig. 2 is a side View showing three deck beams secured to three supporting legs and also showing a bottom pallet runner, and

Fig. 3 is a partial front view showing the ends of a plurality of deck slats and the end of a pallet runner, the deck slats being secured to a horizontal deck beam, the beam being secured to the pallet runner by a supporting leg.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 1, a plurality of deck slats I are disposed in parallel spaced-apart relationship. These deck slats have an inverted U-shaped section to which horizontal arms 2 are integrally united with the vertical legs of said U-shaped section. These deck slats run the entire length of the industrial pallet from front to rear. The deck slats adjacent the ends of the pallet are preferably provided with wear lugs lr. As shown in Fig. l the three outside parallel deck slats have such wear lugs Ix. These wear lugs are preferably spaced-apart and of a length greater than the width. The outside deck slats shown in Fig. l are provided with three transversely disposed wear lugs at each end thereof and with a longitudinally disposed wear lug located between. a pair of horizontally disposed wear lugs. The number of wear lugs on each slat as well as their orientation as to being transverse or parallel to the deck slat may vary according to the type of usage to which the industrial pallet may be put.

Each of the deck slats l is provided with metal stifieners 3 which are riveted to the deck slats at 2 Claims. (Cl. 248-120) both of their ends. These stiifeners prevent crimping or smashing of the slat ends should the pallet be dropped from a height onto a concrete or other hard surfaced floor.

lhe parallel spaced-apart deck slats are in turn secured, as for example by riveting, to a plurality of deck beams 4. The deck beams 4 also have an inverted U-shaped section with horizontally extending arms integral therewith similar to the shape of the deck slats, but these deck beams 4 are further provided with oblique and outwardly disposed arms 5 which arms are integral with the horizontal arms associated with the U-shaped section. The said obliquely disposed arms are in turn provided with upper horizontal exterior arms 6 of sufiicient fiat area to provide a surface for riveting said exterior arm 6 to the horizontal arms 2 of deck slats l.

A plurality of pallet runners l are disposed transversely to the spaced-apart deck beams, the spacing between the pallet runners being considerably greater than that between the deck slats and sufficient to permit the forks of a forked pallet truck to be inserted between the pallet runners and beneath the deck beams. In Fig. 1 the pallet is provided with three parallel spaced-apart deck beams 4. The pallet runners l have substantially the same shape as the deck beams 4 but the pallet runners are disposed so that their U-shaped section is not inverted.

A plurality of spaced-apart supporting legs 8 are disposed between the deck beams 4 and each of the pallet runners 7. As shown in Fig. 2 three supporting legs are disposed between the deck beams 4 and a pallet runner l, but the number may be increased if greater supporting loads are to be sustained. The supporting legs are generally of a U-shape having wing sections 9 obliquely outwardly disposed from the top of the supporting legs. These oblique wing sections 9 engage the obliquely disposed arms 5 of the deck beam 4 and are spot welded or otherwise secured by conventional means to effect a rigid and rugged structure. The U- shaped supporting legs 8 have a substantially horizontal base with a semi-circular section 10 centrally disposed thereof. This central section i0 is disposed within the U-shaped section of the pallet runners l and the horizontal sections of the supporting legs 8 and secured to the upper horizontal arms of the pallet runners l by means of rivets II.

In effect, an overall rectangular supporting leg is provided, having a U-shaped supporting leg which provides two of the rectangular walls and the other two rectangular walls are provided by a pair of parallel spaced-apart bailies Hi. This pallet is preferably made from aluminum.

Having described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by letters Patent is as follows:

l. A metal industrial pallet comprising a plurality of spaced-apart deck slats each having a downwardly disposed U-shaped section with horizontal arms integral thereto, a plurality of deck beams of lesser number than the deck slats each having a downwardly disposed U-shaped section with horizontal arms integral thereto and with obliquely disposed arms integrally secured to each of said horizontal arms of said beams, said obliquely disposed arms terminating in exterior horizontal arms disposed in the same plane and adapted to be riveted to said deck slats, a plurality of U-shaped spaced-apart pallet runners having the shape of and being disposed transversely and upwardly toward said deck beams, and a plurality of spaced-apart U-shaped supporting legs fixedly secured to and between said deck beams and said pallet runners, the spacing below the deck beams and between the pallet runners being suitable for the forks of a forked pallet truck, the vertical walls of said legs terminating in obliquely disposed wings adapted to fixedly engage said obliquely disposed arms of said deck beams with the base of the U-shaped section of said legs being fixedly secured to said pallet runners.

2. The industrial pallet of claim 1 wherein the opposed ends of the deck slats are provided with stififeners, and having a pair of bafiles disposed between the vertical walls of said U-shaped section of said supporting legs to effect a rigid rectangular supporting leg having four supporting walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,148,150 Clark Feb. 21, 1939 2,640,669 Ashford June 2, i953 FQREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 609,769 Great Britain Oct. 6, 1948 

